LATE national hero George Rutanhire’s wife Susan has spoken of how she survived the deadly bombing at the Nyadzonya refugee camp in Mozambique at the height of Zimbabwe’s liberation war.
By Bernard Mpofu
On August 9 1976, the Rhodesian security forces carried out a military assault codenamed Operation Eland against refugees at the camp.
A total of 1 028 refugees died out of the 5 250 that occupied the camp. The Rhodesians claimed 300 Zanla and 30 FAM (Armed Forces of Mozambique) died during the onslaught.
Former Zanla commander Morrison Nyathi, who had defected to the Rhodesian security forces, is accused of selling out the camp to Rhodesian security forces.
“On the fateful day, we were celebrating some of the gains we had made during the struggle.
“Our commanders then said the celebrations would continue the following day because they had to travel to Zhunda where they were based.
“I told them that I also wanted to join them and they said ‘Susan you can’t go with us, you have to remain behind’.
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‘When we return, these celebrations would have ended’. I agreed,” Rutanhire said in an exclusive interview with The Standard.
“When they left, they instructed me to be in charge of the camp. When Nyathi arrived he blew a whistle. I said to myself, who was summoning people to the parade when I was left in charge.
“I could only call for a parade at 8 o’clock and I decided not to go. I said to myself, if there was an address, let them continue and I would find out later. “I then went to my room waiting to hear why there was this parade.
“Other comrades complied and gathered and children also went to the parade.
“Suddenly, I heard gunfire and loud screams. I then fled towards the river with eight children who were close by.
“They followed us but we escaped and went to Chimoio were I was the first person to tell other liberation fighters of the massacre.”
Susan, who married Rutanhire in 1972, said she only stayed with her husband four years after her wedding at St Alberts in Mashonaland Central province.
She said the late Pope John Paul II looked for the late national hero and Susan during his visit to Zimbabwe after he had heard an account of how they joined the liberation war.
He, however, failed to meet them but later sent his photograph from the Vatican.
Rutanhire, according to his widow, worked with the Catholic Church as an assistant to St Alberts priest Father Gilley.
“He left a note in Father Gilley’s Bible informing him that he had decided to join the liberation war,” she recalled.
“This happened a few months after we wedded. We hardly stayed together and in 1972 I joined him in crossing the Zambezi River before he went for training in Tanzania.
“I also received military training after him and later became an instructor. In fact, I was part of the first group of 72 women who received military training.”
Susan and George have three children. Rutanhire was buried at the National Heroes Acre yesterday.
